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Texas Rangers: Have They Found Their Catcher of the Future?

By Cody Smith

ARLINGTON, TX - JUNE 17: Jose Trevino #71 of the Texas Rangers is doused by teammates after he hit a game winning two-run single against the Colorado Rockies in the bottom of the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on June 17, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 13-12. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - JUNE 17: Jose Trevino #71 of the Texas Rangers is doused by teammates after he hit a game winning two-run single against the Colorado Rockies in the bottom of the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington on June 17, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers won 13-12. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /
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Despite the struggles that the Texas Rangers have had at catcher so far this season, Jose Trevino has become a late-season bright spot.

Entering the season, the Texas Rangers expected Isiah Kiner-Falefa to eventually become the catcher of the future, even though he entered the season in a platoon with veteran catcher Jeff Mathis.

The plan was to let Kiner-Falefa develop more as a catcher, and defensively, while Mathis would fill in as a superior defensive catcher. Kiner-Falefa was coming off a season where he burst onto the scene as a super utility rookie, as he hit .261 in 111 games. On the other hand, Mathis was abysmal offensively in 2018, as he hit just .200 in 69 games.

That plan did not work out too well for the Rangers, as Mathis has essentially been a guaranteed out when he would step up to the plate, and Kiner-Falefa suffered an injury in early June, and the team decided to end their experiment of him catching, causing him to stay in the minors until early August.

While Kiner-Falefa was injured, the Texas Rangers would have called up Jose Trevino, but an injury prevented that, so they were forced to acquire veteran catcher, Tim Federowicz, from Cleveland. After a fairly hot start, Federowicz fizzled out, causing him to be designated for assignment after the trade deadline, resulting in Jose Trevino finally being called up.

In 2018, Jose Trevino had a very brief three game stint in the majors, including a Father’s Day walkoff hit against the Colorado Rockies. In the three games, he hit .250 in eight at bats.

In the 114 games that Federowicz and/or Mathis have appeared in, the two have hit under .170, and have posted a combined WAR of -1.9. To put that in perspective, Rougned Odor, who has been awful this season, has a WAR of -0.6. It’s been brutal for the Rangers catchers.

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That is… until Jose Trevino received his call-up back to the show. Since his return, he has been terrific offensively (given what other Rangers catchers have done), as he has hit over .260 across 34 games. Trevino was hailed for his defense in the minors, and the Rangers hope is that his bat would come around.

So far in his MLB career, his bat has been solid. For a catcher to hit above .260 is pretty good, and it would be something that the Rangers would very much enjoy due to their offensive catching struggles since the World Series days.

Really the only other options for the Rangers for catching at 2020 are Trevino, along with adding a free agent to platoon some with him. The team will likely give Trevino the first jab at proving that he is the catcher of the future in 2020, as some of their minor leaguers, such as Sam Huff are still developing, and likely will not be ready for debut in 2020.

Next. Rangers positions up for grabs in 2020. dark

The Texas Rangers may still be looking for their catcher of the future, but Jose Trevino has most definitely earned the opportunity to try to capture that title.

  • Published on 09/23/2019 at 12:01 PM
  • Last updated at 09/23/2019 at 11:32 AM
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